Posted on 07/23/2008 11:08:34 AM PDT by ElkGroveDan
SACRAMENTO — A year after billionaire hotelier Leona Helmsley bequeathed $12 million to her dog, Trouble, thousands of California cats and canines may soon be in the money too -- though perhaps not so deep -- thanks to a measure signed Tuesday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The bill the governor signed into law provides for enforcement of "pet trusts" set up by animal owners to pay for continuing care for Spot and Mr. Whiskers after the owner's demise.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Meanwhile the Budget is two weeks overdue, the economy is in the tank, crime and traffic congestion are out of control, and businesses are fleeing to greener pastures in neighboring states. But at least we know that no one is going to be able to contest Fluffy's inheritence.
It’s all about priorities yaknow.
woof!
"The governor signed 32 other bills into law Tuesday, including one making it a misdemeanor to buy, sell or butcher a non-ambulatory animal for human consumption. AB 2098, by Assemblyman Paul Krekorian (D-Burbank), was written in response to a recent scandal in which the Humane Society of the United States released an undercover video showing workers at a plant in Chino using electric prods and forklifts to move sick cows who had fallen down before slaughter."
Well, there goes a good “road kill” barbecue. Hey, maybe he shoujld have set up a tax on pet trust funds to cover the disposal of less fortunate animals found by the side of the road. Yep, important business, for sure.
No kids, two houses and a parrot that will probably outlive me and the missus by 50 years, darn right I have a pet trust.
Yes, there are other more pressing issues.
However, that doesn’t change the fact that there is something drastically wrong when a special law must be passed to protect a legal bequest from the plunder of greedy relatives, even greedier lawyers and over reaching judges. Not to mention self serving groups like PETA that go after money in pet and animal trusts.
Pet trusts should also include iron clad instructions for disbursal of any funds remaning after they are gone.
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